CARBONDALE, Ill. - Anthony Beane was named Co-Player of Week in the Missouri Valley Conference with Evansville's D.J. Ballentine, the league announced today. Beane averaged 24.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in wins over Indiana State and Loyola last week. He was 16-of-27 (.593) from the field and 14-of-15 (.933) from the line. He made the winning jumper in the overtime victory over the Ramblers. He is SIU's first Valley Player of the Week since Carlton Fay won the award on Nov. 16, 2009

Southern Illinois (8-15, 4-6) is back on the road again Tuesday when it plays at Drake (12-10, 3-7) in a game that will be televised locally on WSIU. Two games separate the eight teams that are bunched together from third to 10th place in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Drake holds off Southern Illinois, 57-54
Drake continued its mastery over Southern Illinois with a 57-54 win on Wednesday night for its sixth-straight victory at SIU Arena and ninth win in the last 10 meetings between the schools.

Series versus Drake
Drake has won nine of the last 10 meetings overall, including a 57-54 victory in Carbondale on Jan. 22. Desmar Jackson had 15 points to lead SIU in that game, but Southern was only 12-for-28 from the free throw line.
The Salukis' only win in the series in the past four years was the 2013 regular-season finale at Drake, in which Jeff Early scored 26 points, including two free throws with 5.0 seconds left in the three-point win.

Desmar Jackson eclipses 1,700 points
G Desmar Jackson (6-5, 180, Sr.) has 1,728 career points (804 at Wyoming, 924 at Southern Illinois) and has scored more points in his college career than any active player in the league. A member of the MVC Preseason Team, he is the league's second-leading scorer and ranks 28th in the nation (19.9 ppg).

Bola Olaniyan a rebounding machine
Freshman Bola Olaniyan (6-7, 225, Fr.) has grabbed 41 rebounds in the last four games and has vaulted to fourth in the MVC in conference only games (6.9 rebounds). The Nigeria native leads the league in offensive rebounds in conference games (3.3 offensive rebounds). He played sparingly in the team's first 18 games, but has started the last three. Against Indiana State he had career-highs in points (12), rebounds (12), assists (4) and steals (3).

Jackson 13th in nation in steals
Jackson is making his case for MVC Defensive Player of the year, leading the MVC with 2.43 steals per game, which ranks him No. 13 nationally. Twice, he has recorded six steals in a game (Drake on Jan. 22, Loyola on Feb. 1). That's the most by a Saluki player since Bryan Mullins had six against Mississippi State on Nov. 23, 2007. Jackson is the career leader in steals per game (2.11) at SIU.

Anthony Beane with a week to remember
G Anthony Beane (6-2, 180, So.)
had his best week in a Saluki uniform last week, averaging 24.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in wins over Indiana State and Loyola. He was 16-of-27 (.593) from the field and 14-of-15 (.933) from the line. He made the winning jumper in the overtime victory over the Ramblers.
Beane leads the team in 3-point shooting percentage (.372). It's a significant improvement over last year's .313 mark.

Bullet points
The Salukis are aiming for their first three-game conference winning streak since taking four straight in February of 2008...The Salukis are 6-3 when leading at halftime and 2-11 when trailing...SIU was 1-8 at the midway point of the MVC season last year, but posted a 5-4 mark in the second half...SIU plays five of its last eight games on the road....The Salukis are 7-2 when Anthony Beane shoots better than 50 percent from the field and 1-13 when he does not...G Dawson Verhines has the best assist-turnover ratio (3.20) on the team with 16 assists and five turnovers on the season...A Saluki player has fouled out six times this year -- Desmar Jackson (3), Davante Drinkard (2) and Bola Olaniyan (1) and SIU is 0-5 when a player fouls out.